Today’s recipe is actually a modification of one of my favorite recipes. The original recipe is from Loren Cordian’s The Paleo Diet Cookbook. To be clear, I am NOT an adherent to any “diet”. My personal belief is that if it is yummy and relatively healthful? I’ll eat it! The original recipe calls for shrimp, but with cost in mind, I went with chicken tenders that were on sale for $2.99 per pound.

4. Toss in chicken, stir for a couple of minutes and then cover for two more until chicken is cooked through.

5. Turn off heat and toss with paprika and cilantro.

6. Squeeze lime juice over the chicken and sprinkle with cayenne.

7. Serve either over or next to one cup of cooked quinoa

Serves 4

Going forward I am going to have to assume that you have supplied your kitchen with a few essentials – olive oil, butter, spices like paprika, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper. These will not be included in my pricing in part because they are investments that should last you at least a month or two even with daily use. So this is how the pricing breaks down for this meal.

$2.99 – one pound of chicken tenders$0.66 – 1/3 of a bunch of cilantro ($1.99 per bunch)
$2.00 – cherub tomatoes (a little less than 1/2 a package at $3.99 per package)
$0.25 – juice from 1/2 lime at 50¢ per lime
$0.30 – one clove of garlic at $2.99 per bulb
$2.35 – 1/2 package of TruRoots Quinoa at $4.69 per package

GRAND TOTAL – $8.55

If you still have the salad supplies from earlier, you can make a nice side salad somewhere between $1.50 ~ $2.00 bringing you total to just a touch over $10.

So Lord only knows if this is going to work or even if people are going to like it, but here goes…

I would like to introduce you to the $10 Meals Series – hopefully an ongoing weekly series here at Run Luau Run. For the premiere of the series, I am going with an old standby in our household, Grandpa Bill’s Tuna Noodle Casserole…honestly, Grandpa Bill’s Casserole isn’t that different from anyone else’s. In fact, last night I received an email from one of my readers, Tristen, who offered up a very similar recipe. Tristen adds a 1/2 cup of milk to the recipe.

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F
2. Boil Pasta for 7 – 8 minutes depending on desired tenderness.
3. Drain pasta, place back in pot and mix with tuna, cream of mushroom soup and peas.
4. Spread in a casserole dish, cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes.5. Uncover casserole and bake for an addition 15 minutes or until top is at desire crispiness.
6. Take out of oven and let sit for 5 minutes to set.

While all of this is happening, chop of romaine head and toss with tomatoes and olives. Dress with a little olive oil and sea salt and you are good to go.